The Value of Fun Facts in Job Searching
Job searching can feel like a straitjacket: there are guidelines for CV layouts and cover letters that extend to the smallest details, like choosing your font. Once you reach the interview stage, there’s an expectation that you will have prepared answers for common interview questions.
No wonder job search documents can become repetitive and mechanical, and interview answers may sound redundant.
Preparation and following job search rules are essential. But that doesn’t mean your application materials and interview answers should lack all personality. Sharing fun facts about yourself sets you apart from others and can make you a stronger, more appealing candidate.
Caution Alert: Share Fun Facts with Care
While there are benefits to sharing fun facts in your job application, experts often warn against showing too much personality or overdoing the humor. After all, you don’t want to share anything that recruiters might consider silly, offensive, or just a waste of their time.
Here are some tips on fun facts to share and what to keep to yourself:
- Be Honest: There’s no point in sharing a hobby or interest that isn’t really something you enjoy or participate in. If you include “marathon runner” on your CV, but you haven’t participated in or run for decades, it could lead to an awkward moment in your interview.
- Be Interesting: It’s fine to share typical hobbies and interests – cooking, reading, practicing yoga, and watching movies – but of course, it’s great to throw in unexpected things. Whatever your interest, be prepared to talk about it in an engaging way.
- Be Relevant: Always, always, do your best to tie fun facts back to the job at hand. Sharing hobbies can be a great way to showcase transferable skills – if you’re part of a local hockey team, for example, you’re likely a strong team player.
Where to Share Fun Facts in Your CV
Your CV may be one of the easiest places to share fun facts: you can add a section called “Hobbies and Interests” and include them there. Experts often recommend removing this section if you’re tight on space – that’s certainly reasonable advice, but including it gives interviewers a chance to connect on something more personal than mutual acquaintances through school or previous jobs.
In this section, you can include volunteering experiences, extracurricular activities, as well as general hobbies and interests.
Where to Add Fun Facts in Your Cover Letter
Be cautious here: unlike the CV, there’s no specific section for sharing fun facts in cover letters. Since cover letters aim to present a compelling and concise case for your candidacy, it’s a bad idea to include filler sentences that do not enhance this goal.
However, some of your interests may align with the job in question. You might write, “In my role at XYZ Company, I was able to reduce the time it took to prepare the annual report by 15%. Honestly, improving workflows is part of my personality wherever I go: at XYZ Charity, I’m the one who creates and maintains the volunteer training schedule.”
Sharing Fun Facts During the Interview
If you’re feeling bored during the interview, it’s likely your interviewer is feeling the same way. That’s not a good outcome. Aim to show some personality during job interviews; sharing fun facts makes your answers engaging and gives interviewers a well-rounded understanding of you as a person.
Here are some questions where sharing fun facts can help – like your hobbies and interests:
- What
What are your hobbies? What do you feel passionate about? What is your biggest strength? What is your biggest weakness?
The idea here is to use a fun fact to talk about yourself as an employee. So, for example, if asked about your biggest weakness, you might start by talking about how you always struggle with a lack of discipline, but training for a marathon has shown you how structure and routine can help you succeed in long-term projects. Then, you want to bring your answer back to work and show again how you are working on improving your discipline.
So, use fun facts to present a complete picture of yourself, and share some intriguing information and memories about yourself throughout the application process, from your resume to interviews.
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/mentioning-fun-facts-about-yourself-in-job-search-4148373
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